BARCELONA, Spain, March 1 (UPI) -- Moderate to high levels of regular physical activity is linked to slower lung function decline among smokers, a Spanish study has found.
Exercise also helps to moderate smokers' risk of developing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD, according to Dr. Garcia-Aymerich of the Center for Research in Environmental Epidemiology at the Institut Municipal d'Investigacio Medica in Barcelona, Spain. The study was published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.
Garcia-Aymerich and four associates evaluated the physical activity, smoking history and lung function of 6,790 persons over 11 years.
"Prior to our study, the extent to which regular physical activity could reduce the risk of developing COPD was not known, but both epidemiologic and experimental studies indirectly supported this hypothesis," said Garcia-Aymerich.
Over the course of the study, 928 patients developed COPD. The reduction in COPD among smokers due to moderate to high levels of physical activity was 21 percent of potential new cases.
